In recent years, the right has become a powerful force in many parts of the world. This review focuses primarily on the United States, with comparisons to rightist movements elsewhere. Our focus is movements, not political parties or intellectual trends. The article begins with terms and definitions and distinguishes conservative from right-wing movements. We then review changing theoretical orientations and the major findings on ideologies and characteristics of these movements. We also survey contextual factors that influence rightist mobilization and strategies used by rightist movements. We pay particular attention to New Right and New Christian Right conservative movements and to right-wing skinhead and white supremacist movements. A final section examines methodological and ethical concerns that arise in studies of the right. The conclusion recommends directions for future research.
Despite the gains of far-right and racist movements in many parts of the world, they have been the subject of relatively little ethnographic research. This volume assembles work by prominent scholars on right-wing extremist movements in various places across the globe. Despite significant differences in the agendas and contexts of these groups, close-up examination of their dynamics and the motivations of their activists suggests that emotionality, culture, suspicion of outsiders, and the choices of members are key to understanding how the far right recruits members and garners support from the general population.
The process of leaving deeply meaningful and embodied identities can be experienced as a struggle against addiction, with continuing cognitive, emotional, and physiological responses that are involuntary, unwanted, and triggered by environmental factors. Using data derived from a unique set of in-depth life history interviews with 89 former U.S. white supremacists, as well as theories derived from recent advances in cognitive sociology, we examine how a rejected identity can persist despite a desire to change. Disengagement from white supremacy is characterized by substantial lingering effects that subjects describe as addiction. We conclude with a discussion of the implications of identity residual for understanding how people leave and for theories of the self.
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